Little Fish, Little Fish

Micah took his first set of swimming lessons this summer. He was very nervous at first, since he's barely spent any time in pools or water deeper than four inches. I was really proud of him, because he really improved throughout the two weeks that he took lessons - by the end he was very excited to get into the pool. When we were in the water he would kick his legs, gulp down a few drinks and splash a little bit.

These pictures were from our last day of lessons, and you can tell he's excited to get in - as long as his head didn't get wet!

Yes, his shirt is very small on him... it's not supposed to be a belly shirt. I figured it was better than nothing, and it was the last lesson, so he'll never wear it again!

Funny story about this picture... Notice that Micah's sitting IN the pool, and I'm in front of him - also IN the pool. I had a feeling of doubt about even trying to take this picture, because I know how wonderfully coordinated I tend to be - but I did it anyway. Well, I took this picture and a few more, then promptly dunked the corner of my camera into the water. Luckily it was only a little bit of the camera and I dried it off and reached to set the camera on the edge of the pool - Micah was only 8 inches away from me and as I dried the camera off, I was watching him.

It's important to know that Micah has been learning to 'jump' off the wall of the pool. He can't stand up on his own, so his jumping is a little modified - he leans forward until he falls off, and then I catch him before his head goes under the water.

Well, he decided that the best time to try his new trick was right as I reached over to set my camera on the side. Thank God, I saw him tip forward and I was able to catch him just after his face went into the water - but he jumped into water two feet deep! Yikes! (I will never bring my camera into the pool again - I should have known better!) As I grabbed him, most of my camera went into the pool, since it was dangling from my wrist, which was in the pool. Luckily it was fine, and even more important - Micah was fine!

Here is a little song that we sang at each lesson:

Little fish, little fish, kick your legs!

(Your baby kicks his legs for a few seconds)

Little fish, little fish, blow bubbles!

(Your baby gulps down some big drinks of pool water while you show him how to blow bubbles)

Little fish, little fish, splash the water!

(Your baby watches the other babies splashing in the water)

Little fish, little fish, see the sea!

(Your baby does NOT get dunked, because he will cry and be mad at you for the rest of the night.)

This boy loved to swim - can you tell? We're planning to do more lessons next summer, maybe for two different sessions so Micah can spend a lot more time in the pool! Needless to say, I'll bring along a photographer.

Party On A Saturday Night

Last night we hosted Micah's first birthday party, in our backyard!

Be warned, there are a lot of pictures to follow...

The invitation - ignore the silly soccer balls.
They're for privacy of our address and my email address/phone number.
The writing on the invitation was much cuter than those soccer balls!

Micah's party was loosely 'Hedgehog' themed. Here is his hedgehog cake,
his smash cake in the front and an array of cupcakes accompanying it.

The hedgehog cake up close.

I made this navy mason jar Friday to hold these daisies.
It was super easy - a tutorial will be coming soon!

The first taste of his cake!

He loved the cake. I thought he'd really dig in, but he took his time, eating little bites slowly.
He really didn't make much of a dent in the cake, but he sure did enjoy it!

Micah's best friend Kai was here, and wanted to get his hands on that cake too!

Then it was time for presents! Micah looked intently at each gift we unwrapped.
He was given some great toys, books and adorable clothes!

David and I with our little messy boy after eating his cake!

Micah had a great time at his party - and so did David and I! Thank you so much to our friends and family who came to help us celebrate Micah's first year of life. You're all very special to us!

Also, a big thanks to my mom and my sister, who drove down for the weekend (a 6 hour trip!), and then helped to get everything ready for the party! You both are awesome!

The End Of An Age

Micah is officially one year old.

Today has been a great day of celebrating, missing naps, opening presents, swimming, and spending quality family time together. We drove up to Tri-Cities this morning to purchase some supplies for Micah's birthday party, coming up this weekend. It wasn't a very long trip, but it was nice to have time together as a family in the car. David and I also bought Micah his birthday presents, which he was able to pick out - a swimming pool shaped like a lion and some water toys for in his pool!

After our galivanting was complete, we came home for some lunch and nap time for the little one. Just as he was waking up, I finished setting up his pool so he went swimming! He really enjoyed splashing around, and David and I sat in folding chairs with our feet in the water. This pool is really fun -- if you hook your hose to the side, it makes a sprinkler! Micah didn't care much about that feature, but I think he'll care more when he's a little older.

Micah also got some presents this evening after swimming lessons from Gram-B, Papa, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Marci and Anna.

He's been having a lot of fun taking out his books -- can you tell? He loves this little crane, the books, the clothes and the firetruck that he was given! Actually, he really loved the clothes! I've never seen a kid examine each piece of clothing they were given, looking them over and then tasting the hanger... I thought maybe he was done with the tasting...

This little guy has changed a lot in the last year -- he's crawling very quickly, pulling up on everything, saying 'Hi' and waving to everything (even vans), barking at any animal he sees, saying 'Ma-Ma' and 'Da-Da' and 'Dog.' Soon he'll be walking and talking even more clearly. Each stage he goes through is so much fun, and I look forward to the next ones!

I feel like I can't remember him being this small!

Happy birthday Micah, you have given us so much joy in the last year! Your dad and I love you more than we ever knew possible and we're so excited to see how God grows you in the years to come. You are an adorable little boy with a lot of love to share and I can't wait to see how that continues to grow and effect others. You are a blessing to me that I could never replace or replicate - I love you, little turtle!

Another First For Micah and A Fun 'Weekend'

David, Micah and I spent part of last week at my parents' house, up near Bellingham. Because Micah was sick we had to go a day and a half late, so it was a short visit, but we had a great time!

Not only did we get to spend time with friends and family, but Micah got his first haircut! Here are some before, during and after pictures:

I miss those curls already!

We went to lunch with my good friends from high school, Jen, Katie, Kara and Stacey. We all lead different lives in different parts of the country - and world! - but it's interesting that we are all married. It was great to spend time with my friends, and to eat dinner at El Nopal (AKA Elmo Paul), where we spent a lot of time in high school. This was the first time in five years that we all had been together - because we don't live in town, I missed the get-together last year.

I love that we can all come together after a long time, and still be just as comfortable talking and joking around as we were back in our high school days. I meant to get a picture of all five of us together, but Jen had to leave a little earlier than the rest of us to go see some family. So, I just got four-fifths plus the two little guys, Micah and Noah.

Stacey, Me, Micah, Noah, Katie, and Kara

Micah also got his first birthday present, from his friend Noah. He was excited to open it up at the restaurant, but even more excited to play with it at my mom and dad's house! It's a little helicopter with four colored plastic balls, and he's been crawling all over our house with those balls - he's in love. Thanks Noah!

Also, Micah didn't wear the same shirt all weekend - I think I took a lot of these pictures on the same day!

I'm Back!

My Etsy shop has returned!

It has a new name (Laughing Turtle Designs), a new URL, and a few new items - with more to come!

I have made a few new sets of coasters:

My favorite new item, though, is this embroidered wedding shower gift, which I gave to my friend Jennifer.

I won't be selling this exact piece, obviously, because I gave it away. I will be taking custom orders though, so if someone you know is getting married, they need a hoop to commemorate their love!

Please take a quick second to have a look at my new shop sometime soon! You can get there by following this URL: http://laughingturtledesigns.etsy.com/

A Week of Firsts

This week has been one of multiple firsts for Micah.

He went to his first parade:

And then he promptly fell asleep.

He also ate his first popsicle:

He's not so sure about popsicles. Too cold.

He also learned to drive:

And although this isn't his first bubble bath, it's cute so I wanted to share it:

And Here We Are In August

Two weeks ago I said 'tomorrow' I would be updating this little blog with more pictures. In the chaos of working full time at Hydromania, having a baby who was sick for a week, and discovering that he is allergic to amoxicilin, I just didn't get a chance to be online much.

These pictures are ones that I took with Daniel and Marci's new camera (I feel sort of envious, but they're very kind and let me use it any chance I get!) at a baby shower for Micah's favorite cousin, Anna, with our Hilliard branch of the family. It was held in our cousin Robyn's back yard in Kennewick, and it was a great time together!


Is he not the cutest little boy you've ever seen? I love this smile!



Little Anna is growing so fast! She's already 6 weeks old, and is so adorable - the second cutest baby I know!

Anna with her mama.



At first Micah didn't seem to be very interested in Anna, but he's slowly getting more and more curious about her.



Micah with his 'Gram-B'

Gram-B and Aunt Cindi are cooing to Anna, while Micah tries to climb up and see his new cousin.

We have a good time together!

More pictures to come soon - but I'm not going to give myself a time constraint - soon is as specific as I can say.